Insights into the world of divorce and family law matters

August 06, 2012

According to a report at www.tmz.com, the Saginaw-born Wonder filed for divorce Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court using his legal name: Stevland Morris.

In the documents, which reveal the couple has been separated since October 2009, Wonder cited irreconcilable differences and asked for joint custody of the couple's two sons:Kailand, 10, and Mandla, 7.

He reportedly stated in the papers that he will pay spousal and child support in an amount to be determined.

August 01, 2012

Adrienne Maloof and Paul Nassif have legally separated and appear on the verge of calling it quits for good after 10 years of marriage. But if there's one thing they won't be fighting about, it's the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star's fortune.

That's because Adrienne and Paul have a prenup, E! News confirmed.

ven so, such a premarital agreement might not stop Nassif from going after the Bravo personality's bank account.

Already, things are getting testy between the former fun couple and their split has the makings of a nasty, drawn-out battle.

In his paperwork, Nassif requested joint physical custody of their three children—9-year-old Gavin and 6-year-old twins Christian and Colin. Maloof, however, wants primary custody of the kids, according to family insiders.

July 31, 2012

Then, like the stealthy vampires that they are, along come Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart with a cheating scandal and the seeming demise of their relationship, a romance that convinced a generation of (mostly) females that the things we read about in books can totally come true-true-true. . . at least kinda sort of.

The interest in these two stories demonstrates a bit of an age divide when it comes to celeb gossip. The Cruise/Holmes saga is one that, arguably, is of greater interest to the over-35 set, those who have watched Cruise marry and divorce three times during their adult lives and still remember when he was considered the ultimate symbol of male perfection. Some of those same people glance at the Pattinson/Stewart headlines and say, “Who honestly cares about these bland ‘Twilight’ actors?” Meanwhile, an infinite number of young Pattinson/Stewart fans breathlessly sift through every detail about cheating timelines and U-Haul trucks and make YouTube videos that demonstrate their emotional struggle with all this, suggesting that a lot of people care. A LOT.

January 19, 2009

Today's New York Daily News has a headline that screams Madge's Lourdes Works a Miracle.
No, Madonna's teenage daughter isn't healing the sick or parting the
seas. According to the paper, what Lourdes has done is even more
miraculous -- she's managed to make peace between divorcing duo Madonna
and Guy Ritchie.

A source tells the paper that 14-year-old Lourdes came the couple
begging, "Please don't be mean to each other." The teen told her mom
and Guy that she wanted everything to be as friendly as possible.
According to the source, Guy and Madonna have buried the hatchet and
are making every effort to make things as civil as possible for the
sake of the kids.

The fact that teenage Lourdes is managing to do what even divorce
lawyers can't is a definite sign of the times, according to
psychologist Cooper Lawrence. Cooper, author of "The Cult of Celebrity"
tells momlogic, "It's different now than when we were kids. The way
they parented us is different from the way parents raise kids today.
Today, kids are involved in every family decision from what car are we
going to buy to what kind of dog are we going to get. You can't have it
both ways -- you can't expect the child to be involved in family
decisions and then all of a sudden make a life changing decision and expect the child to have no say."

Cooper also adds that watching Lourdes take an active role in her
parents' divorce sends a powerful message to other children of divorce.
"Lourdes is a little girl who grew up with the paparazzi as part of her
public life. She has a public image and it matters what she says and
does. When she says be nice to one another it sends a different
message, it's influential to other kids."

But even so, Cooper cautions about having children act as peace
keepers in their parents divorce. She asks parents to be careful about
their behavior and warns that children should never be put in a
situation where they feel they need to step in to keep the peace. "The
children have nothing to do with the divorce. When you put the kid in
the middle you're screwing up your kid. It's cruel. Children learn from
your behavior and how you treat people."

As a rule, Cooper tells momlogic that parents need to keep the
arguments to themselves; no child should have to hear you badmouth,
fight or yell at each other. "Some kids take this stuff personally. You
don't want the kids to somehow think that the divorce is their fault --
and even if you say that it's not, if you continually bad mouth your ex
to the child, you're sending the message that somehow the child is
involved."

And above all, remember, although you want to be your child's
friend, you are first and foremost a parent. Don't use this as an
opportunity to talk about what went wrong in your relationship, that's
not a conversation any parents should have with a child. Cooper
explains, "Don't talk to the kids about the divorce except for
conversations about their own feelings. You have to reassure them that
it's going to be ok. Mommy and daddy might not love each other any more
but we both love you."

December 18, 2008

Padres owner John Moores has hired Goldman
Sachs to search for a potential buyer as he goes through a divorce from
his wife, Becky.

"Goldman will look at offers and make
recommendations," Moores said in an e-mail Monday to The Associated
Press. "I have been told that, because these are difficult economic
times, I should be prepared for a wide range of interest and offers.

"Needless to say, San Diego is a very attractive place to own a baseball team," he said.

The hiring of Goldman Sachs was first reported by MLB.com.

The owner didn't say what percentage of the team would be up for sale.

John Moores, who made a fortune in computer
software, bought a controlling stake in the Padres for approximately
$80 million in 1994 from a 15-member group headed by TV producer Tom
Werner. Werner later became a co-owner of the Boston Red Sox.

The Moores' reportedly own 90 percent of the
team. Because of community property laws in California, Becky Moores
shares 50 percent of that asset and must agree to any sale. Their
daughter, Jennifer, owns five percent and the other five percent is
owned by Glenn Doshay, a San Diego businessman, mlb.com reported.

The Padres are going through a salary dump in
large part because of the divorce. They're trying to pare their player
payroll from about $72 million last year to around $40 million this
year.

San Diego, which lost 99 games last year, has
tried unsuccessfully to trade ace Jake Peavy, who is due to make $11
million in 2009. San Diego shed $6.5 million by trading shortstop
Khalil Greene to St. Louis and pulled a $4 million offer to all-time
saves leader Trevor Hoffman.

June 11, 2008

Madonna and Guy have been dodging breakup rumors for a while now so
this isn't exactly shocking news but the odd twist it that the report
claims Madge and Guy didn't have a pre-nup. Say what you will about
Madonna, but she's one smart businesswoman. There is no way in hell she
would get married without a pre-nup.

Apparently the couple has just "grown apart" over the years and "The
adoption of David Banda attracted a huge wave of negative publicity,
allegedly putting further strain on the relationship."

Madge met with Mostyn about 10 days ago to allegedly discuss the divorce proceedings. What do you guys think?From Hollyscope.com.

May 06, 2008

James E. McGreevey and his estranged wife spent this morning in
settlement talks, making a last minute attempt to resolve their bitter
breakup on the day the divorce trial was to scheduled to begin, court
officials said.

The settlement talks began at 9:30 a.m., broke for lunch at 1 p.m.
and focused on the contentious issues fueling the very public feud
between Dina Matos McGreevey and the former governor, said Sandra
Thaler-Gerber, spokeswoman for the state Superior Court in Union
County. The talks were scheduled to resume at 2 p.m.

"We are trying to see if there will be a settlement," Thaler-Gerber said.

The former governor was scheduled to testify today as part of the trial's custody phase, which is not open to the public.

But the settlement talks have superseded the start of the trial, Thaler-Gerber said.

"Everybody is hopeful. You want there to be a settlement," Thaler-Gerber said.

McGreevey is seeking to have 50-50 custody of Jacqueline, asking the
judge to have the girl alternate weeks living with him in Plainfield
and her mother in Springfield. Matos McGreevey has asked to continue
the couple's current arrangement: She gets custody while he gets
liberal visitation rights, including alternating weekends and some
holidays.

In addition to the custody issue, Matos McGreevey wants alimony and
support. McGreevey is paying $2,500 a month in support, but Matos
McGreevey wants any permanent amount to be higher. McGreevey claims he
has very little money, makes $50,000 a year, and is unlikely to make
more because he is a seminary student aiming to be a priest.

Matos McGreevey is a fundraiser for Columbus Hospital Foundation and earns $82,000 a year.

Matos McGreevey also sued McGreevey for fraud for not revealing to
her that he was gay before they married. Matos McGreevey wants $600,000
in damages for the year she did not live in the governor's mansion.

The McGreeveys married in October 2000. They publicly separated in
November 2004 -- three months after McGreevey resigned as governor and
announced to the world that he is gay and that he had an affair with a
male aide.

McGreevey, 50, filed for divorce in February 2007 after a settlement
agreement fell apart. Matos McGreevey, 41, lives in Springfield.
McGreevey lives in Plainfield with his partner, Mark O'Donnell.

April 10, 2008

Giants defensive end Michael Strahan has
taken his messy divorce to a new venue.

He's asking a state appeals court to reduce the $14 million that
a lower court ordered him to pay his ex-wife.

Michael Strahan's lawyer, Angelo Genova, argued that it was
"absurd" for a court to award his ex-wife so much.

A prenuptial agreement called for her to receive half their
joint assets and 20 percent of his earnings if they divorced. But
Genova says Strahan should not be penalized because he did not set
aside that amount.

The judges in Morristown questioned Jean Strahan's lawyers about
whether her ex is paying too much.

March 28, 2008

Robin Williams' wife has filed for divorce from the Oscar-winning
actor after a 19-year marriage, a spokeswoman for the actor confirmed
on Wednesday.

Marsha Garces Williams filed for divorce petition
at a court in San Francisco on March 21 citing irreconcilable
differences, reports said.

Williams' representative, Mara Buxbaum, confirmed the divorce in an email to AFP.

Garces,
51, and Williams, 56, married in 1989, shortly after the actor's
divorce from his previous wife. The couple have two children, an
18-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old son.

Garces has worked as a producer on several of Williams films including "Jakob the Liar", "Patch Adams," and "Mrs. Doubtfire."

Williams
won a best supporting actor Oscar for his role in the 1997 film "Good
Will Hunting" and has been nominated for an Academy Award for three
other movies: "Good Morning Vietnam," "The Fisher King," and "Dead
Poets Society."

March 17, 2008

A British court ordered former Beatle
Paul McCartney on Monday to pay his estranged wife Heather
Mills 24.3 million pounds ($48.7 million) after an acrimonious
divorce battle.

The settlement was only a fifth of the sum she had sought
but she still ended up with the equivalent of about $34,000 for
each day of her four-year marriage to the pop icon.

Speaking after the judge's ruling, Mills said: "I am so
glad it is over. It is an incredible result in the end.

"We are very, very pleased," she added. "I am so, so happy
with it." McCartney declined to comment.

McCartney, 65, married the former model and charity
campaigner Mills, 40, in 2002 but they separated four years
later, blaming media intrusion into their private lives. They
have a daughter, Beatrice, aged four.

Following one of the most bitter divorce battles in
show business history, the couple failed to reach an agreement
after six days in court last month, leaving the judge to set
the final figure.

She said Shackleton, who also represented
heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles in his divorce from Princess
Diana, "has called me many, many names before even meeting me,
when I was in a wheelchair."

Mills, who sacked her lawyer and represented herself in
court, urged would-be divorcees to do the same. "You can be a
litigating person," she said. "You'd save yourself a fortune."

Justice Hugh Bennett, giving details of the settlement,
said: "She sought an award of almost 125 million pounds. Sir
Paul proposed the wife should exit the marriage with assets of
15.8 million pounds inclusive of any lump sum award.

"The judgment decided that the husband should pay the wife
a lump sum of 16.5 million pounds, which together with her
assets of 7.8 million pounds means that she exits her marriage
with total assets of 24.3 million pounds."

DAUGHTER

The split was fought out under a remorseless media
spotlight with McCartney, a founder of the world's most famous
pop group, pitted against the outspoken Mills, target of lurid
tales in the press about her colorful past.

The court ruled that the judgment be made public, but
stayed publication pending Mills' appeal against it being made
public.

Mills, speaking to a phalanx of reporters on the steps of
London's High Court, said she was appealing "because the
judgment involves private secure matters of my daughter."

Referring to what their daughter would receive, Mills said:
"Beatrice only gets 35,000 pounds a year. So obviously she's
meant to travel B Class while her father travels A class, but
obviously I will pay for that."

Asked if she now planned to move abroad, Mills said: "I
can't leave England. I always wanted to keep my daughter near
her father. Believe me if I tried to go, he would have an
injunction on me in a second."